Believe it or not, it's good solid computer
Written: Jul 18 '00 (Updated Dec 13 '00)
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Pros: Powerful, solid design, and priced right
Cons: Speakers are shoddy - that's all
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| Gr8ful's Full Review: eMachines eMonster |
Note: My original review on the eMachines eMonster was written when I was new to Epinions and was based on my own casual use of one particular computer and my friends opinions of the computer. Since then I have had the honor of upgrading several of these computers and have a completely different view of eMachines in general and the eMonster in particular.
Thanks to "proudgeek" who shined a light in my eyes and gave me the slap in the face I needed to rewrite my old review, which was not only poorly written but wrong about many things that I had only written from other peoples opinions (not from this community) on the eMonster. My apologies to those who read that review and were mislead by my ramblings. Ok, on to the opinion.
The eMachines eMonster is a solid computer designed similar to a home built computer in many ways. The computer has the ability to be upgraded and expanded upon virtually to no limit. You could pay much more for a computer limited in expandability and proprietary in design. The eMachines eMonster is completely non-proprietary.
The eMonster has an excellent processor, the Pentium III 500MHz and now you can even get the Pentium III 600MHz in it. It also has 64MB of PC100 SDRAM, upgradeable to 256MB. This is a good setup for most common uses and with a memory upgrade to 128, you have a solid setup for any purpose.
This computer also comes with a Voodoo3 graphics card in the AGP slot. The video is not on-board and is does not share system memory like other computers in it's price range. The Voodoo3 is an excellent 3D accelerator, it is far from the best but much better than most computers have at this price.
The sound card is decent, not as good as as I would like but the Crystal 3D PCI audio is an actual card that can also be upgraded in the future. 32-bit audio is not bad at all and for the price of this computer is good.
As a technician I have gained considerable respect for eMachines since upgrading many of them. The design is excellent and easy to work on. When you open the case all the parts are easily accessable and right there, not hidden behind the power supply or under the drive bay assembly like a Hewlett Packard. This computer may replace the Micron's as the "technicians choice". Of course, building your own is still the best way to go but if you want a prefab computer, the eMachines eMonster is as good a buy as you'll find for the price.
The eMonster also features an 8X DVD ROM drive and a 13GB hard drive. It has 2 USB ports and a 56k PCI winmodem. The speakers they give you are not that great but then again, who's are? You can add a good set of speakers at a relatively low cost and the sound is much better. The eMonster also gives you 3 PCI and 1 shared PCI/ISA slots for expansion.
Another misconception of mine and many others is the eMachines BIOS. I had originally stated that the eMachines BIOS were inaccessable to the user and this is completely false. The BIOS are AMI BIOS and are fully accessable to the user. All BIOS functions can be controlled by the user and set to his/her desired settings.
All said and done, the eMachines eMonster can't be beat for price/performance and is a top contender in the PC market today. I strongly recommend the eMachines eMonster 500 or 600 for anyone who wants a solid computer with good power at an affordable price.
Update: 09/28/00
The eMonster models 600id and the 600ix purchased between August 1 through September 26, 2000 were recalled by eMachines due to the fact that several hundred of these computers were shipped with a very bad virus on them. If you purchased an eMachines eMonster 600id or 600ix between August 1, 2000 and September 26, 2000 chances are pretty high you have this virus.
eMachines was taking all computer returns purchased within this time frame. If you bought one of these computers, you could return it to the store you bought it from without penalty. You must however, have had your receipt, the box, all the packing, and all software/documentation in order to return the purchase. Any returns that need to be made after September will have to be made directly through eMachines.
This is not a hoax. The eMachines company has formally stated that many of the eMachines 600id and 600ix computers were shipped with the Chyrnobl virus on the hard drive. This virus is very bad and not only can damage data on the hard drive but can also destroy the data in the BIOS as well. If this happens, the computers are completely useless.
The Chyrnobl virus executes itself every month on the 26th and each time it does more damage to the computer. The virus can be removed and it is possible to catch it before it executes but since eMachines has issued a recall, there is no reason to even mess with it. Just simply return your 600id or 600ix and get a new one.
The eMachines eMonster line of computers are well designed and make a great home PC. If you do return your computer due to the recall, you can get another of the same model and be assured that the problem has been dealt with and your new computer will work properly and be virus free. eMachines has dealt with this crisis very well and handled it like the quality company that they are.
If you have any questions regarding this matter you can contact eMachine to find out more information.
Update: 11/13/00
The problem mentioned above has been completely removed and all eMachines computers are being sold virus free as of September 26, 2000. Hats off to eMachines for an exemplary display of customer service during this crisis.
Thanks for reading.
Recommended:
Yes
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Intel Pentium III
Processor speed: 501-600
RAM: 64
Internal Storage: DVD
Hard Drive (GB): 13-20
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